Work holder for slicing machines



July 18, 1933. I THOMAS 1,918,673

WORK HOLDER FOR SLICING MACHINES Filed Nov. 8,' 1926 2 Sheets-$heet l July 18, 1933. THOMAS 1,918,673

- WORK HOLDER FOR SLICING MACHINES Filed Nov. 8. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ZQT Patented July 18, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT oFPIcE;

HENRY THOMAS, or. LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR '10 U} s. smc'me MACHINE COMPANY, oF'LA roam, INDIANA, A conroaAtrIoN or INDI NA WORKHOLDEB. FOR

Application filed November 8, 1926, Seriallm.

This invention relates to machines for slicing meat or other commodities and especially to display trays for holding the material to be sliced, such as cooked meats, so 6 that the unsliced'piece may be removed from the slicing machine and placed in position where it may be seen by the customersyand readily placed on the slicingmachine when desired. a v

The object ofthe invention is to provide a display tray of the class named which shall be ofimproved construction and operation, and which shall be convenient to connect with or disconnect from the slicing machine.

Other objects will appear fromv the follows ing description. g i

The invention is exemplified in the combination and arrangement of parts shown-in the accompanying drawings and described in the following specification and it is more particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 1 i V In the drawings V a Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a ortion of a slicing machine showing one em odiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a section online 22 ofFig. 1; a Fig. 3 is an elevation with parts in section showing the display tray in position on the 3 feed table of a slicing machine; I l, Fig. 4 is an elevation looking from the left in Fig. 3; Y j Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevation showing a modified detail of construction;

Fig. 6,is a plan View of the details shown in Fig. 5.

The numeral 10 of a slicing machine having an inverted U- bracket 11 secured to the upper face thereof in which a lever 12is mounted on a pin 13. The lever 12 carriesa toothed lock 14. for engaging the-threads ofa feed screw 15. A leaf spring 16 has rolled ends 17 which project through slots 18 in the legs of the U-bra-cket 11 and are held against displacement from the slots by screws 19. The. lever 12 is provided with a projection 20 which overlies the spring 16 so that the spring operates to hold the toothed member 50 14 in cont-act with the feed screw 15. The

designates the feed table pivot smcme MACHINES 146,888, an'd'in Great Britain ltareh 2, 1926.

lever: is provided with a handle 21 by means of which the toothed member 11 may be raised out of engagement with the feed screw. The feed table 10 carries a removable displaytray 22 having a portion 23 bent .3

upwardly at one side forming an upstanding Wall to which a socket member 24 is secured bysrivets 25 at one side'of the forward end of the feed table. The display tray 22 may be provided with diagonally directed ribs 22 to assist in holding material in place on said display tray. The feed table 10 has a guide member 26 against whichthe wall23ofthe tray 22 bears, and the wall 23 is provided with tioned respectively in front and rear of the U-bracket 11. Itwill be seen from Fig; 2

that the end rolls 17 of the spring 16 project beyond the ears ,31 so that thespring serves to hold the dlsplay tray .22 against upward movement. To position the tray in place on .the feed table, the side adjacent the guide 26 is placed in position while the side having the ears 31 is canted upwardly with the parts 27' and 30 inengageme nt with their corresponding holding members on the guide 26. The upwardly canted side of the tray is then moved downwardly, forcing the cars 31 past the projecting rolls 17 of the spring 16. The

rolls will yield to permit the ears to pass and will form a spring catch to retain the tray in place. To remove the tray, the handle 21 may be lifted to depress the central portion of the spring 16 which will thus drawthe ends. of

the spring inwardly and free the ears 31.

The side of the tray may then be lifted to permit itto be shifted laterally to release the holding members 27 and 30. i

For clamping a piece of meat or other ma terial on the display tray 22, a standard 32 is held in the. socket member 24 in position to rotate about an upright axis in the socket member. A clamp 33 is mounted to slide vertically on the standard 32 and is held in vertically adjusted positions by any suitable catch member 34. The upper portion of the standard 32 is preferably angular in cross section to hold the clamp 33 from rotating on the standard. The standard, however, may be rotated in the socket 24 to move the clamp away from the tray to permit apiece of meat or other material to be readily placed on the tray or removed therefrom. The socket member 24 may be provided with a spring-held pin 35 arranged to engage depressions 36 in the lower end of the standard 32 to hold the standard in its adjusted positions as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

I claim 1. The combination with the'feed table of a slicing machine, of a display tray mounted on said feed table, inter-engaging means on said feed table and display tray for holding one side of said display tray in position on said feed table, a bracket at the opposite side of said feed table, spaced ears on said display tray for engaging said bracket, and a spring catch mounted on said bracket for engaging said ears to hold said opposite side of said display tray in position on said feed table.

2. The combination'with the feed table of a slicing machine, of a display tray mounted on said feed table,-inter-engaging means on said tray and feed table at one side ofsaid tray, a bracket 011 said feed table at the opposite side of said tray, a lever pivoted in said bracket, a leaf spring mounted in said bracket and having rolled ends projecting at opposite sides thereof,'.and ears on said tray for engaging said rolled ends to hold the side of i said trayadjacent said bracketin position on said feed table said leverbeing for the purpose of operating said leaf spring. v

3. A removable display tray for a slicing machine carriage comprising a base member, means on one side of said base member adapted to interlock with means on said carriage, and spaced ears on the opposite side ofthe base member adapted to engage and be held by a catch on said carriage, said catch engaging the upper surfaces of said ears and exerting a force thereon in a downward direction. 4. A slicing machine carriage comprising a base member, .a removable display member carrying a clamping means adapted to be removably mounted on the base member, means for locking the display member on said base member comprising means at one side of said display member interlocking with means on the corresponding'side ofthe base member, a loosely mounted spring mounted at the other side of the base member having means urgingit downwardly against the base and arranged to have its opposite ends engage and hold means on the corresponding side of the display member.

5. A slicing machine carriage comprising a base member, a removable display member carrying a clamping means adapted to be removably mounted on the base member, means for locking the display member on said base member comprising means at one side of said display member interlocking with means on the corresponding side of the base member, a loosely mounted spring mounted at the other side of the base member having means urging it downwardly against the base and arranged to have its opposite ends engage and hold means on the corresponding side of the display member, said means for urging the spring downwardly comprising a lever pivoted to the base and held against movement away from the spring by its engagement with a part on the base.

6. The combination with the carriage of a slicing machine, of a removable display tray mounted thereon, spaced ears on said display tray, and a single releasable catch engaging both of said ears.

7. The combination with the carriage of a slicing machine, of a removable display tray having a plurality of means on one side thereof engageable with a plurality of projections on the carriage, a plurality of spaced ears on the opposite side of the display tray, and a spring having curled ends loosely surrounding screws mounted on the base, the over-all length of the spring being greater than the distance between the ears so that as the spacedears are forced down over the ends of the spring the latter is compressed and will expand again as the ears pass thereover,

to engage and hold the spaced ears and as a result the display tray in yielding engagement with the carriage.

8. The combination with the carriage of a slicing machine, of a removable display tray having a plurality of means on one side thereof engageable with a plurality of projections on the carriage, a plurality of'spaced ears on the opposite side of the display'tray, a spring having curled ends loosely surrounding screws mounted on the base, the over-all length of the spring being greater than the distance between the cars so that as the spaced ears are forced down over the ends of the spring the latter is compressed and will expand again as the ears pass thereover, to engage and hold the spaced ears and as a result the display tray in yielding engage- -ment with the carriage, and a means for shortening the over-all dimension of the spring to permit the tray to be removed from the carriage.

' 9. The combination with the carriage of a slicing machine, of a removable display tray having a plurality of means on one side thereof engageable with a plurality of projections on the carriage, a plurality of spaced ears llu , all length of the springbeing greaterlthan the distancebetween the earsso that as the spacedears are forced down over the ends of the springthe latteris'compressed and will expand again as the ears pass'thereove'r, to

. engage and hold the spaced ears and as a result the display tray in yielding engagement with the carriage, and a pivoted lever engaging said springfor changing the overall dimension ofthe-spring so that the display tray may be removed from the car riage. a,

10. The combination with the carriage of a slicing machine, of a removable display tray having a plurality of means on one side thereof engageable with a plurality of pro- '6 tached to the carriage of a slicin jections on the carriage, a plurality of spaced ears on the opposite side of the display tray, a spring having curled ends loosely surrounding screws mounted on the base, theover-all v length of the spring being greater than the distance between the ears so that as the spaced ears are forced down over the ends of the spring the latter is compressed and will expand again as the ears pass thereover, to en gage and hold the spaced ears and as a result the display tray in yieldingengagement with the carriage, and a pivoted lever carrying a tooth engaging a feed screw on the carriage adapted to engage the spring for changingthe over-all dimension of the spring so that the display tray may be removed from the carriage. i v v V 11. A display tray for slicing machines comprising a base member adapted to be at g machine, an upright rotatably carried by the base member, and a clamp member slidable along but nonrotatably mounted on said upright adapted to clamp a substance to be sliced on said tray. V i r y 12. display tray for slicing machines comprising a base member adapted to be attached to the carriage of a slicing machine,- an upright rotatable to various predetermined positions, a clamp non-rotatably mounted on said upright but slidable therealong, and means for holding said clamp in adjusted position along said upright.

13. In a slicing machinethe combination with a feed table, of a display tray mounted on said feed table, a bracket disposed at one side of said feed table, spaced ears on said display tray for engaging said bracket and for preventing longitudinal movement of said display'tray relative to said feed table, and a spring catch adaptedto engage said spaced ears to prevent vertical movement of said display tray away from said'feed table.

14:. In a slicing machinethe combination with a feed table, of a display tray mounted on said feed table, a bracket on said feed table along one side of said display tray, a

lever pivoted on said bracket, ears on said tray arranged in close proximity to' .said bracket, and a spring on said bracket for engaging said ears, said lever being for the purpose of operating said spring. a

15. device as set forth in claim lei which includes a feed screw for feeding said feed table and in which said lever is provided with a nut for engaging said feed screw.

' 16. In a slicing machine the combination with a base member, a removable display member mounted on said base member, and means for locking said display member on said base member comprising a bracket on one side of said base member, a loosely mounted spring mounted on said bracket and adapted to engage sald display member and hold the same downwardly on said base member, said spring being adapted to have its opposite ends 1n engagement with said display member.

17. In a slicing machine the combination with a" feed table,of a display tray having a plurality of projections on one side thereof,

and a spring having curled ends thereon loosely surrounding retaming means on said table, the overall length of said spring being greater thanthe distance between said pro]ect1ons, said spr ngbemg compressible 1n the directlon or its longitudinal d1mension so that the projections on the display tray may. be brought into engagement with said spring and moved downwardly over the opposite ends thereof to bring said display tray into desired position on said table and so that after said projections have passed over theends of said spring the spring will expand to its normal dimensions and prevent accidental removal of said display trayfrom said table and hold said display ,tray 7 in [position on said table.

1 8. A device as called for in claim 17 in which a means is provided for decreasing the overall dimension of the spring to permit removal of the tray from said table.

19. In a slicing machine, the combination with a feed table, of a toothed member operatively connected to said table for engaging a feed screw, a lever forming an extension of said toothed member adapted to operate said toothed member, into and out of'engagement with said feed screw, a display tray removably mounted on said feed table, and a latch for holding said display tray in position on said feed table, said lever being operatively connected to said latch so that tray from its operative position on said feed table simultaneously with the movement of the feed screw lnto-an inoperative position.

feed nutmovably mounted on said ieed table said latch is moved to release. the display and adapted to engage a feed screw for feed ing the feed table along said substance supporting table, a display tray releasably mounted on said feed table, means for releasably holding said display tray on said feed table, and operative connections between said releasable means and said feed nut for porting table. 1

v HENRY THOMAS. 

